Fox and Wolf's Secrets ::story 4::
by BlackFireProdigy
Summary: Ume gets kidnapped by demons with a huge, mysterious grudge. Tsume discovers a way to find out the ties between her and Ume, but first she and the others have to find and save her. H&U K&T more romance than ever! Title used to be: Kitsune ken Ookami Hiou
1. Fireworks All Around

Hey folks! I know I haven't written much in a pretty long time (if you don't count the normal stories at fictionpress) so to make it up to you…I'm starting a new Yu Yu Hakusho story for all of you! If you loved the first three, then you'll love this…For my sake.

So, in a lot of books, there are the dedication pages. Well, here's a dedication paragraph!

I'd like to thank Ireney for (attempting to) helping me make this story, Skittles for Tsume ideas in the past, story ideas, and making me write more and faster since she wanted to read more. I'd like to thank the person with the "HieiHan666" penname. If she hadn't read my older FanFics, and reviewed, I would've began to think no one was reading these and not make anymore!

That's all for now! Here's my 4th story!

Wait…one last thing… Make sure you read the first 3 before you read this or you might be a little confused. Thanks!

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Tsume walked up the hill, moving around a piece of paper in her pocket. It was pretty late. The sun was already down but Tsume was on her way to her favorite spot in the neighborhood. It was a very high point with a big, shady tree from which she can see the whole city, the sunset, and the sunrise. She absolutely loved spending hours just sitting there and daydream.

But this day was special. This day, she wasn't going to sit there by herself. The note in her pocket was from Kurama. Apparently, he gave it to Ume to give to her. Ume said he was too shy to give the note himself.

As Tsume approached the tree, she saw a figure sitting there. She hurried up to it. She saw Kurama waiting and began waving but right before reaching him, she tripped. Kurama stood up and rushed forward to help Tsume.

Grabbing an arm, Kurama helped Tsume up. She grinned and blushed nervously, scolding herself in her mind that she was stupid and clumsy.

As she was being helped up, she managed to say, "Umm…well…I got your message to meet-"

"Wait. You got a message from ME? I got a message from YOU to come here."

"What? That's impossible. I have the note right here."

"I have mines too."

On top of a building not too far away, Ume was spying with binoculars, laughing her head off. She mumbled to herself, "I can't believe my plan actually worked!"

"What plan would that be?"

Ume gave a little jump. "Oh. Umm…hi Hiei. Heh…what are you…doing here?"

"I wanted to see who the little sneak was on the roof." He looked at Ume's binoculars.

Ume hid them behind her back. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb." He sat near the edge of the building with Ume. "What are you trying to accomplish up here?"

Ume held the binoculars in front of Hiei's eyes so he could see Kurama and Tsume figuring out that Ume set them up. "I'm going to watch the fireworks. Would you like to join me?"

"Fireworks? Between those two?" Hiei stared at Ume. "Did it ever occur to you that they'd both just leave?"

"When I said 'fireworks', I meant literally and not."

Hiei sat there in silence and watched Ume get up and stood up. After moving her arms and legs, switching from fighting stance to fighting stance, she stuck out her arm and a small ball of energy shined over the palm of her hand. She shot the ball over where Kurama and Tsume were and several seconds later, fireworks shot up into the air.

"I see you had this planned out from the beginning."

"Yep. I paid Kuwabara to stand there until he saw the signal to light the fireworks. He had no reason why. He just likes the fact he's getting easy money."

Ume sat next to Hiei and stared out at the sky that lit up with fireworks. "Plus, the fireworks are supposed to be really beautiful and I get to see them work. Not to mention Kurama, Tsume and everyone else in the immediate area." Ume grinned.

Tsume and Kurama stood there, both embarrassed they were tricked by Ume.

"Well…" Kurama said, starting to leave. "I think I should go now."

Tsume grabbed his arm and stopped Kurama. "Wait…" she was interrupted by sudden fireworks filling the air in many shapes and colors. "Umm…Don't you want to watch the fireworks?"

Kurama smiled and sat down with Tsume to enjoy the fireworks.

Ume sat with Hiei, watching the fireworks together as well.

"These really are beautiful firework, huh?"

"Yea, they are." Hiei gave a short answer. He paused. "Did you find out anything?"

Again, Ume tried to look innocent and confused. Hiei stared at her and Ume gave a sigh of resignation. "No. I found nothing about my past. Going to the Demon World was a complete waste of time."

Suddenly Ume gave out a little sneeze. "…I guess its a little cold here…Maybe I should go before I get sick. Besides, it's getting late. My parents will begin to wonder where I am. Bye Hiei." She was willing to take any chance given to change the subject.

Hiei didn't say anything.

The next day, Hiei was walking to school by himself and then Yusuke and Kuwabara joined.

"Hey Shorty! Where's Ume?" Kuwabara shouted out.

"No one answered the door at her house. I assume she left already."

"That's weird. She doesn't usually walk to school alone. She usually goes with you." Yusuke snickered.

Tsume and Kurama soon joined the three. Tsume looked around the group. "Where's Ume?"

Hiei explained again.

"Strange…I didn't see her leave her house." (She lives near Ume, just to let you all know incase you didn't read the old ones)

"That is because you woke up late and walked with me today." Kurama said.

"Well…still… This is kind of weird."

"How is it weird? Ume left for school earlier. Big deal..." Yusuke said.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this…" Tsume said…worried for her friend. She and Kurama made a turn to their school and the boys quickened their pace to theirs.   
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So…that is the end. I would've finished sooner but…well…yea. Sorry.

Don't forget to review!


	2. The Disappearance

Chapter 2 is here! I would've started earlier but my sister is obsessed with an online game… and she uses my account… Oh well. Here's the story!  
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Yusuke was asleep as usual, but only with a worried look on his face, Kuwabara sat uncomfortably, and Hiei sat silently thinking, staring at Ume's empty seat. She wasn't at school that day.

The boys figured she might be sick. They thought of many rational reasons, but they still had the same bad feeling Tsume was talking about. And they couldn't shake it off either. After knowing Ume for almost a year, they couldn't help but worry.

As soon as school ended, the group met outside Ume's house. There was a "Closed" sign on the door. (Remember, it's a dojo/house where people come to sign up and train.) Tsume knocked on the door. There was no answer. She knocked louder. There was still no answer.

Yusuke then pushed Tsume back and started banging on the door, yelling out,   
"HEY! IS ANYONE HOME?"

No answer.

"How are we to get in now?" Kurama wondered out loud.

Kuwabara grinned. He used his Spirit Sword and cut the door down to pieces.

"I meant 'How do we get in without breaking anything?'"

They all stepped into the main signup room. The whole entire dojo area was deserted. They moved to the house section on the right of the residence. After going through most of the rooms, they went into Ume's room at the end of the hallway.

Kurama opened the door and found both Ume's parents unconscious on the floor. The boys carried the two to their room and set them on their bed while Tsume went to get ice packs and bandages.

Soon enough, Ume's mother woke up. Once she had figured what was going on and finally realized where she was, she saw her husband on her right. Kurama calmly told her that he would be ok and is just unconscious. A few moments later, she tried to explain what had happened.

"Ume hadn't come home the other night." She explained. "We figured she was with you people again and was off fighting demons… I fond it strange since she tells us when she leaves, but my husband and I shrugged it off. When we woke up this morning and discovered she was still gone and left no word behind, we began to worry. "

"Not too long ago, several strange looking creatures, demons I suppose, broke into the house. They went into Ume's room as if they were looking for something. I'm guessing they didn't find it, because afterwards, one of them saw us hiding and asked where "it" was."

"My husband said that we had no idea what we were talking about. The demon-thing just looked angry and called over its friends, knocked us unconscious, and tied us up. And that's where you found us."

A blanket of silence fell over the room once Ume's mother was done with her story. Looks of dread and concern filled the faces of everyone in the room...except Ume's unconscious father who had finally begun to awaken.

He sat up slowly, looked around the room and had a confused look on his face until he remembered what happened. He burst out, "Where's Ume?"

Tsume answered. "She didn't go to school and is still missing."

The middle-aged man didn't say anything.

"But…we'll find her as soon as we can." Tsume tried her best to sound reassuring.

Tsume and the boys left.

"Maybe we should look around the city and see if she left anything clue behind or go back in and look in her room?" Kuwabara suggested.

"That'd be a waste of time. Ume had never returned home, so there'd be nothing there. And we'll waste too much time looking through the whole city, and we may not even find anything."

"What about the thing the demons were looking for? Maybe it's in her room!" Kuwabara argued.

"Then the demons would have found it and wouldn't need to bothered her parents," Hiei replied.

Kuwabara had nothing left to say.

"So where could she be?" Yusuke pondered out loud.

"We could go and see if Ko-Enma knows anything about this abduction." Kurama said. 

The others agreed and got Botan to tell what has happened to Ume and she was off to tell Ko-Enma.

"Yusuke, you and Kuwabara should look around the city a bit. Kurama, Hiei, and I will go to Demon World. Maybe the demons went back or others know something," Tsume planned out.

Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately left to search and the other three were off as well.  
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So…that's the end of that! Is anyone even really reading these things?

Well, if you are, and you actually got this far, review!


	3. The Soul Item

Man, did this chapter take long or what? Sorry about it. I had no ideas for this thing. 3/12/06 (sis's birthday. Yay her. Happy birthday, to her!) (And all you other people with this birthday?)  
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Kuwabara and Yusuke looked around the area where Hiei said he and Ume were the night before. They went from there to Ume's house and looked through the streets and alleys carefully. Eventually, they came across one not too far away.

The alleyway was a complete mess. Trash cans were overturned, garbage covered the floors that wreaked a horrible stench, and the wall was even damaged. Obviously, there was a struggle, and not one that normal humans could've caused.

Slowly Yusuke and Kuwabara searched through the mess until Yusuke came across a small bottle with a few drops of strange, green liquid in it. He opened the bottle with Kuwabara staring down over his shoulder. Another disgusting smell filled Yusuke's nostrils. He stumbled backwards slightly and closed the bottle.

"What the hell was that?" Kuwabara bellowed.

"Must be what the demons used to get Ume."

"This isn't good. Let's keep searching."

After nearly half an hour of searching through garbage, the two rested and concluded there was nothing left to be found.

"So where could she be?"

"I don't have all the answers, dammit!" Yusuke almost kicked Kuwabara out of irritation and worriment. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Let's just hope the others are having better luck than us." He closed his eyes and hoped for the best and that their friend wasn't hurt…or worse.

Tsume, Kurama, and Hiei had crossed the border to the Demon World. Hiei knew Ume was here the night before to find out more about her past. Maybe she had returned. Hiei led the group to the den of wolf demons; Ume's pack.

The wolves backed away towards the back of the cave as the three went inside. Hiei stepped forward and one of the wolf demons came forth. He sniffed Hiei cautiously and sat in front of him.

"If memory serves, you are Ume's companion?"

"Yes-" Hiei then looked incredibly surprised. "I thought you couldn't speak, Beast!"

"I can. I've learned. The others here can not, but they can understand." He replied calmly. "Now, why are you and you're friends here? And why is Ume not accompanying you? And for your information, my name is Ryoushi."

Tsume stepped forward. "We can't find her. She disappeared after returning back to the human world last night. Demons went to her human home and were looking for something. We thought she might be here, or you might know something about this?"

"What were the demons looking for?"

"They didn't say. They just asked for 'it'."

The wolf demon lied down, closed his eyes and began to think. "She came here seeking more information about her parents and past and why that locket combines with Tsume's gem." He opened his eyes and stared at Tsume. "We couldn't tell her much except that not too long after she was born, her father was gone for a few days. When he came back, he had the locket and gave it to Ume to keep."

"Maybe it was her locket the demons were looking for," Kurama put together.

"It's possible. That thing is a source of great Demon Energy; along with the necklace, of course. She had it with her when she came, if I remember correctly."

"She probably hid it somewhere before she was taken away; otherwise, the demons would have it and not have to search for it." Hiei figured.

"So where is it then?" Tsume asked the wolf demon, hoping he'd know.

"I do not know the answer to that, but there is one more thing you people aren't aware of. I have already told Ume this the night before…" One of the other wolfs cautiously moved forward and began to nudged Ryoushi., signaling that it wasn't a good idea to tell 'outsiders' about themselves, but he continued speaking anyways. "Her locket, the one her parents had left her, the one that is mysteriously connected with Tsume's jewel, is also a sort of life source for our pack."

"You see, the ways of the wolf demons include that there is a material items which a mass amount of the pack's energy and such are depended on. Without it, we would be stuck in our wolf self forever."

"We wouldn't be able to leave or go _anywhere_ hidden as any other demon or human. Not to mention our non-animal instincts depend on the item. Otherwise, we'd be savages in the Demon World, like newborn pups. We'd wander out of the safety of our den unknowingly and get ourselves killed. Our independent thoughts would be doomed."

"This 'item' is created with all of our Energy. The leaders, Ume's parents, are the ones who must put it all together into an item that already exists. They had it ages ago and had always kept it with them, until they passed it on to their daughter; the locket is our, as we call it, Soul Item. It is the 'soul' of our pack, and now that it's lost, it's only a matter of time until _we_ get lost in savagery."

"But it's been stolen for quite some time. Why hasn't it been destroyed yet?" Tsume asked.

"Normally, the Soul Item is incredibly protected. It has to be, of course. But with the powers that were already in it, it's even _more_ resistant to damage. But nevertheless, it will be destroyed in a matter of days. There's only so much it can take."

"Is that all that you can tell us?" Kurama asked the Ryoushi.

"I'm afraid so, my friends." The wolf who nudged Ryoushi earlier had started to growl. Tsume, Hiei, and Kurama stared at it, wondering if it was friendly. "…This is Unari. She suggests you not to tell anyone of our secrets. If any of this information got out, our pack would be a living target. The pack does not trust strangers easily, but I've told you all this in confidence considering that you are Ume's friend. Don't be foolish to betray us."

"We won't; and don't worry about Ume. We'll find her before anything happens to her or the rest of you." Tsume answered calmly.

Unari gave a satisfied growl and headed back to lie in her spot in the den.

Tsume said goodbye to the wolf demon and left the cavern with Hiei and Kurama.  
-  
After returning to the human world and meeting up with Yusuke and Kuwabara, they told each other what they found out and began discussing how to fine Ume.  
"We could just wait until the demons show themselves, and capture them. Or I could _pretend_ to have the locket to lure them out and capture one of them. We could interrogate the demon until it tells us where Ume is."

"And what if they're expecting it? Whoever we're dealing with _knows_ that that locket is not only powerful, but they probably know its Soul Item of the wolf demons. It's not going to be as easy as it seems. The demons are in hiding and we can't find them and searching for them will be a waste. Not to mention they're watching us too. They'll know if we _really_ have the locket or not. And we can't follow her _everywhere_." Kurama said.

"So you're telling me there's nothing we can do except wait until the demons make their move?" Kuwabara asked bewilderedly.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. We have to plan for strategically. We can't have both the girls get captured if something goes wrong. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to Tsume…Or Ume of course." Kurama began to sweat a bit.  
-  
Ume sat in the center of a dark room. It was pretty much like a typical prison cell…only colder, darker, and the walls and bars of the cell were strange beams that emitted no light. Light footsteps echoed closer. A dark figure approached.

"Already tired I see?" the masked figure said. Ume had spent hour and after hour trying to break free from her cell but failed miserably. "Pathetic. That's what you wolves have become. Your kind used to be at the top. The strongest hunters in the Demon World until those weaklings you call your parents took over. You're all pathetic. Truly pathetic."

"What did you just say? Say that again in _here_! I'll show you how 'truly pathetic' we are!" Ume growled.

She put her arm through the strange beams that made the walls and tried to reach out far enough to attack the strange demon; ignoring the pain the beams gave her hands. The demon put one hand up and Demon Energy balled up in the palm of his hand and shot enough of it at Ume so she flew to the back of the cage, burned by the beams.

"Like I said, "Truly pathetic."

Ume growled. She began standing up and stepping away from the beams. "If we were so pathetic, how is it you can't find the locket? I mean if _we're _pathetic, imagine how sad _you_ people are. Unable to find a little item a 'pathetic' wolf demon hid."

The figure stepped forward, angrily. He shot another ball of Energy at Ume and she soared to the beams in the back again. "Tell me where the locket is, you foolish wolf!"

"Why would you need to know?" Ume got up again.

"So I can rid the world of _your kind_. To get _revenge_ for what your kind has done."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your putrid kind-"

The figure was cut off by a person, stepping from the shadows. "That's enough, young one. We don't want her to know so much. Her tiny wolf demon brain might not be able to stand it."

"EXCUSE ME? And who might _you_ be?"

"I am Senren. I am the purifier of the Demon World! And with this one," he pointed to the figure, "we will rid this world of you filthy beasts. And all we need is your little locket."

"Well, you'll never find it!"

"We shall see, Wolf Demon. We shall see."   
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Jeez. That took forever. Sorry. Next one will be faster I hope?

R&R!


	4. Jiro

So, where did I leave off? Oh yea. That's right. Moving on!

* * *

Hiei sat alone on his same tree thinking about the night he last saw Ume. If he had walked Ume home, maybe she wouldn't have been abducted. Then he thought of something. Where were the binoculars that Ume had the other night? 

In an instant, he disappeared from the branch of his tree. He went Ume's house and quickly checked her room. Nothing was there. He went to the alley Yusuke and Kuwabara had found the strange smelling liquid. Once again, nothing was found. Last, but not least, he checked the top of the building he and Ume were spying from and there they were. The binoculars were there in plain sight. He picked them up. Nothing was special about it. He tossed it over the building, but as it flew over the edge, something in them rattled.

Hiei quickly jumped at them and landed safely on the ground. He got out of sight and stared through the binoculars. He broke off the glass on the right and stuck his hand in it, and there it was, the locket. Behind, a twig snapped and he jumped into the air just barely avoiding a possibly pain blast.

He landed just to have a different demon try to cut him up from behind. Hiei drew his katana and sliced the demon. The demon got cut but was still fighting. It jumped forward and lunged at Hiei but he was too fast. He ducked and as the demon flew over him, he swung his sword upward and the demon fell to the floor a bloody mess. He tilted his head up and stared at Hiei.

"Please! Spare me! I'll t-tell you where your friend is! Just spare my life!"

The energy-firing demon fired more shots, but not at Hiei. He fired at his own companion. The blasts hit the already-weakened target dead on. When the smoke cleared, the demon was dead.

"The little fool! I knew lesser demons should not have accompanied me."

Hiei turned toward the voice and had his katana ready.

"I'm sorry. How rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself. I am assistant-purifier to the mighty Senren! I will rid Demon World of all wolf demons and all those who help them like you and your friends! Prepare yourself-"

"I don't really care. You sound like Kuwabara and I'm beginning to get annoyed." he had his katana and was ready to strike.

"I see. That's how you want things to be?" the boy's face turned grim, "It's sad. I wasn't planning on killing Ume's little friends. After all, it's not their fault they got involved with the filth. Of course, you still have a chance to just surrender the locket and _live_. All your friends do. Lucky for all of you, you have the choice to leave Ume and the rest of the filthy demons as we purifiers rid them of all worlds."

But before he was even finished speaking, Hiei appeared in front of him and tried cutting him with his sword. "Tell me where Ume is!" He swung and missed.

The creature just laughed but stopped abruptly. He looked at Hiei's left arm. The locket was tied around it and he jumped for it. Hiei saw what the demon was going for and quickly spun around so the demon missed. Suddenly, the demon pulled out an extremely sharp thread or some sort and threw it around Hiei. It wrapped around his body and cut him somewhat deeply.The demon held down the chain and slowly approached Hiei.

A figure came out of the shadows and kicked the demon holding Hiei. Getting out of the way, the demon released Hiei and fled. "Hey Hiei!" Yusuke ran up to him. "Who was that guy?"

"Ume's kidnapper. One of them."

"One of them? You mean there are others? Damn, this can't be good. Why did they attack you?"

Hiei held up the locket, "They're still after this."

"You found it? Give it here and let's get the others."

Hiei gave Yusuke a glare and didn't hand over the locket.

"What do you think you're doing. Hand it over!"

Hiei swung his sword at Yusuke and cut him across the face as he stood there stunned. He fell to the floor and turned into a minor, weak demon with gray skin, spilling blood on the floor.

"How…how did you know…?"

"Yusuke may be an idiot, but he knows when to be serious, especially when his friends are in danger. And he would've played the hero and fired his Spirit Gun from a distance like a big shot."

In a short distance, a small clapping sound was heard.

"Nice job, Hiei. You saw through trickery. Ume chose her friends well."

"M-master…I f-failed. P-please help me."

"Ha-ha! You pathetic like the last one! The plan was simply to try and spare Ume's friends from her fate. If you had failed in getting the locket, you would've just become a decoy." The demon smirked and sent a blast at the demon, once again destroying his companions. He held the locket up. It glistened in the sun's rays.

"Damn." Hiei muttered. There was no other choice. He removed the bandages that covered his right arm. Knowing what was coming, the demon immediately left, but he was not fast enough. Hiei used his Dragon of the Darkness Flame and hit the demon's right leg. Hurt, he ran off and Hiei chased him.

The demon took some sort of dust from the pouch he had tied to his waste and threw it at the ground. Instantly, a doorway appeared and he stopped, stood next to it, and turned to Hiei.

"This is your own doing. Now, not only will the wolf demons perish, but the rest of your little group will too! You had your chance to save yourselves but you lost it! You've gotten yourself and your friends into this battle, and you'll all die!" The demon shot one last blast and hit Hiei in the stomach. He jumped through the portal. In an instant, he and the portal were gone.

Hiei fell to his knees; one hand covering his stomach, the other punched the ground. "Damn."

--

"Senren! Senren! I got the locket!"

"Excellent job, young one, you have done well."

"What?" Ume shouted from within her cage. "You idiots _actually_ found it?"

"Shut up, beast! See here? I have it. And all of you wolves will be extinct soon enough. It's only a matter of time."

Ume frowned, "You really need to stop gloating." She tried hiding her fear. It was true. The demon and Senren had the Soul Item. She and the rest of the wolf demons were in trouble.

Senren got Ume's head and pushed up her chin with two of his fingers. "Although my assistant needs to control his emotions, he is quite correct. We have your locket and your kind will be obliterated. You and your friends can resist all you want, but you'll only prolong the inevitable."

"And you make it sound like it's a bad thing." Ume gathered a bit of energy into her hand and slapped Senren's grip away.

Senren rubbed his slightly injured hand and stepped away, smirking. He took the locket from the demon and left. Ume took one good look at the demon's charred right leg and started laughing.

"Looks like you got Hiei pissed off. Way to go." She said, still laughing. She wiped away a tear that formed from laughing so much.

Amused, she tried making small talk with him. Mostly, she was trying to distract him while she gathered up energy and blow him and the cage up and escape. "So, what is Senren exactly, besides being your master? What is he, your father? Are you a son following in the family footsteps?"

The demon went up to Ume's cage, blinded by rage. "My parents are dead. Your kind killed them." He hissed and shot Ume to the back of her cage _again._

Ume got up and walked toward the demon boy almost instantly. "Wolf demons destroyed your parents? Impossible! No one in my clan would ever…"

"You assume it was only one demon. It was _your_ entire pack. No. Nearly every one of them attacked my parents. They led them and trapped them. You're parents were the ones who _killed_ them!"

"You've been told nothing but lies. Even if my pack were ever to attack another demon, it'd be in defense, and they wouldn't use such under-handed tactics." Ume smirked. She focused another bit of energy in her hand and blew it at the demon. The blow caused no harm. It simply blew the robe and hood off the demon, revealing his face.

The demon looked like just an average human being with small demon-like appearances. If he had been raised and taught to keep up his looks, he'd look like a normal human…like Ume. As a matter of fact, he looked a lot like Ume, maybe a few years younger. But one thing stood out in the similarities. They both had the golden eyes of a wolf.

Senren appeared and put his arm between the demon and Ume quickly, blowing back Ume as the demon had moments ago. He glared at Ume and quickly guided his little aide out of the room and away from Ume. He came back soon enough and started to speak to Ume in private.

"Your locket it secured. We have a demon artifact that is channeling my own energy, wherever I may be, to your locket. Soon, it'll be destroyed. And until then, I will not allow you to play with Jiro's mind."

"That's his name? Jiro? You let that one slip big time."

Senren's expression of anger deepened greatly. He shot consecutive blows at Ume. After a few moments, he paused, breathing deeply. "You will _not_ ruin my plans."

Ume slowly got up, holding on to her aching arm. "His parents weren't killed by my family, were they? You lied to him just so you could keep him as a little pet, right?"

"In this realm of demons, there's horror, blood, and death everywhere. This entire world reeks of it, and we wolves can definitely smell it. There is no such thing as a "Purifier", and if there was, they're not doing a good job. Nearly every demon _and_ human would be wiped out. So I wonder this, who _are_ you really, Senren?"

* * *

Ha-ha. That was an interesting place to leave the story. I still have plenty more that I _could've_ typed down, _but_ I'll save it for the next chapter. 


	5. Helpful Visions

Senren laughed manically. His laughter rang through the room. He fired more and more shots at Ume. Ume knocked back again, but this time she did not get up. She was unconscious. Senren left Ume, who was still getting burned by the bars of the cage. Until she woke up and moved away, she would continue getting burnt.

Senren walked to the room where Jiro sat silently on a chair, reflecting in his thoughts. 

"Senren…Sir…She saw me…my eyes. I got angered and put my guard down… You never told me…why I have the eyes of a wolf. Why my smelling and hearing had always surpassed my eyesight. How I loved the sight of the moon and…"

"I never thought you had cared." Senren had spoken gently, like trying to calm a frightened child. "When your parents were killed, you were there. You were just a weak child about to meet a horrible end. I was too late to help your parents, but I saved your life. I've raised you, trained you, and now it's time for both of us to avenge your parents. You're duty to them as their son, and my duty to all of Demon World as a Purifier."

Jiro looked at Senren's face, convinced. "Thank you. I knew it. I apologize for _ever_ doubting you."  
--  
Hiei had found the others and told them about the attack and how he lost the locket. His friends were all disappointed but hadn't lost _all_ hope yet. They got Botan and the Spirit World to search on the name Senren and anyone who could be connected to him. It'd take a while to get results, but that was the best they could do at the time.

Over the past few hours, Tsume's powers had been weakening. Her jewel had lost its usual glow. She had no idea why, but she had a feeling Ume was in a bad condition as she was; probably worse. They _had_ to find her as fast as they could. They just had to.  
--  
Ume lied on the floor, getting sizzled by the bars. She opened her eyes and got up and away from the secure wall immediately. Her body ached badly. She wondered how long she was out. Sure, Ume was being burnt by her prison in her sleep, but she was still resting. Strangely, she hadn't gotten any of her strength back in her slumber. In fact, she felt worse than she ever had before. Her energy levels were depleted and she felt as if she could die at any moment.

Jiro was waiting outside the cage, beaming. He no longer had his hood over his face. 

"What's with the ugly grin?" she asked.

"I'm just enjoying your demise."

"What do you mean by _my_ demise? I'm half-human. Even if you destroy the Soul Item, which I assure you, you won't, it won't affect me as badly."

"You're right. It'll be much, much worse. You'll be dying a most painful, slow, death as you feel every ounce of energy, Demonic and Spiritual, leaving your body, despite being only half a demon, with small bits of your Life Force leaving you. Once we_ do_ get the locket destroyed, I'll be here, watching you die." His grin grew wider.

Ume fell to her knees. A sound came from her mouth. It almost sounded like crying. Jiro was enjoying himself so much. He came closer and looked. Jiro fell backwards. He couldn't believe it. Ume wasn't crying. She was laughing it up.

"I don't care if you have the locket. You can spend all the time you want on trying to destroying it. It won't be." Ume tried to control her laughing. "Besides, you seem to be forgetting my friends. They're going to find me, and they're going to get me out of here. And when they do," she pulled down her sleeve and held up her arm in a fist with it pointing straight up, "I'll personally kick your butt and get my locket back."

Jiro was taken back. He wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. Ume was supposed to lose all hope and cry.

Jiro left Ume to check the progress on the destruction of the locket. With that kind of hope of Ume, Jiro almost feared her friends would indeed get here and save her before the plan could be completed.  
--  
Botan had reported to the others what she found about Senren. He was an orphan demon. No family or friends. He claimed to be a purifier even though there is, officially, no such thing. He's been in hiding for years and no one has heard from him. On several occasions, he left his name on a note or written on the wall so everyone would know his name. He hides in the shadows so not many have seen his face and identify it. He has an assistant who wears a mask. Anyone who has seen either of their faces never lived to tell of it.

He was wanted for thievery of many powerful and sacred artifacts, slaughter of other demons and several humans what appeared to be a frantic search for something. 

It seemed to the Spirit Detectives that Senren had found what he was looking for; Ume's locket and Soul Item of her pack but they couldn't figure out why Senren would want to destroy wolf demons first and foremost.

Whatever the reason may be, it wouldn't be good for Ume and the others, and judging Tsume intervals of power lose, it wouldn't be all that great for her either. They were running out of time.

Tsume gripped her necklace and silently hoped that Ume was safe and they could find her soon. Suddenly, the necklace glowed a bit and Tsume's body flashed radiantly. Tsume closed her eyes and bits of images appeared in her mind and each one she saw, Tsume tried her best to remember it and see if she knew where they were.

After seeing what portal is the right one to get close to Ume's location and the route they had to take, Tsume saw Ume sitting, wounded, in a cage. The vision ended and Tsume had awoken with her friends. She was lying under a tree near where she had stood. Kurama held her hand, checking her pulse. Hiei stood on a branch overhead, Yusuke and Kuwabara stood not very far away, waiting impatiently for Tsume to wake up.

The second she did, she blushed and gently, but quickly removed her hand from Kurama's touch and told them what she had seen.

"You were able to do this all this time and never told us?" Yusuke bellowed in surprise.

"Well, I never knew I could… But the point is we know where Ume is so let's hurry up!" Tsume conveniently left out the part about Ume being hurt and the locket slowly being destroyed.

"Can you use that thing to find anything else out?" Kuwabara asked.

"Like what?"

"Like how your necklace has something to do with hers."

Tsume started wondering about that too. She was so excited about finally finding out, she was already beginning to concentrate.

All she saw was what she already knew. All she saw was her parents giving Tsume her necklace, telling her that the another exist with powerful demons, telling her to guard the jewel, and her ancestors who have done so as well. The vision ended. That was it.

"I suppose it'll work if Ume and I are together."

Kurama rested his hand on her shoulder, "And that'll happen soon enough."

--  
Ume sat in the mid-section of her cell. Her stomach growled, and her mouth was dry. She looked up and closed her eyes.

Right outside the cage was a bit of water and only a bit of food. Ume knew that bit of food and water was all she was getting for a while. She had left it there for some time, waiting for the right moment to eat and regain her strength back.

Her friends were coming. She knew it. She could feel it. Any moment now, they were going to rescue them.

She reached her hand out and grabbed some food.  
--  
After getting across miles and miles of uncharted and deserted Demon World land, they had finally arrived at their destination. It was a huge castle-looking structure with dark clouds and dead, barren lands surrounding it. Not exactly a place you'd imagine a "purifier" to live in. (Think Maze Castle, only a little bit creepier and dead.)

The group advanced forward. When they got to the entrance, they saw it was locked tight. Yusuke tried shooting it with a Shot Gun. Smoke rose, and when it had clear, it showed the gate was unaffected. Tsume took a closer look. There were small cracks going all about the gate. Tsume cautiously touched several of them. Each one she touched glowed.

Kurama figured the door needed a certain sequence to open. He stood there touching the entrance, crack after crack, until the whole gate glowed. It began to slowly open. The others praised Kurama and continued inside.   
--  
Jiro rushed into a dark room. In the middle, Senren was seated on a chair, looking at a pool of water. Out of breath, he managed to tell Senren of the intruders. "Senren, sir, they have not only arrived, but they've gotten past the gates. I apologize for not telling you earlier… I…"

"It is fine. I was expected them to get through the gate, at least. But they shall not get any farther. Nothing will interfere with our plans. Isn't that right?"

"Yes. The wolves will be extinct, and any demon or human in the way will suffer the same fate."

They two demons stared into the pool which reflected the Spirit Detectives hurriedly on their way to save their comrade.


	6. Separated

So I have started yet another fan fiction. I was slow the other chapters due to me working on a fiction press story. Now it may take even more time. Sorry about all this, folks. On the other hand, it might take less since I am working on these a lot more nowadays.

The story switched from one person to another a lot in this chapter. It is not very confusing, but if you are not 'the sharpest knife in the drawer' (…Millie…) then you may get lost (…Millie…)…

Umm…Well, there was really no point in saying that last part. I just wanted to publicly make fun of my friend. It has been a while since I wrote this much in the non-story part… What has it been; 4, 5 chapters? Ha-ha.

Oh, and I am pretty sure I have not said this yet, but there is going to be _ton_ of romance in this story. I am saying this _now_ because there is **_a lot_** in these next chapters (this one included)

* * *

The interior of the castle was twisted. The walls looked crooked and cracked from age. The place reeked of suffering corpses. The ceilings leaked water from recent rainfall which gave the room an eerie, foggy, look. Everyone several feet, there was a small torch on the wall to help the companions find their way. 

An invisible demon followed closely behind, trying his best not to be spotted. Suddenly, a blast was fired at him. He jumped over the Spirit Detectives' heads and landed in front, revealing himself. Yusuke had fired a Spirit Gun at the demon. The others had their weapons out in an instant.

The demon began to run. The hallway became more and more narrow. Soon enough, the Spirit Detectives had to walk in a line, one behind the other, with Hiei in the lead.

The corridor rumbled suddenly and walls of stone appeared behind Hiei, Tsume and Kurama, and Yusuke and Kuwabara, separating the large group into three smaller ones. The walls on the side opened for the two groups in the back so they could continue on. They did everything they could, but the walls separating them would not break. Hiei grew impatient and ran off to find the little demon who was spying on them. They had no choice but to split up.

Tsume and Kurama headed down some stairs and Yusuke and Kuwabara followed their escape route through another corridor. Tsume followed behind Kurama and accidentally tripped. Kurama reached out his arms and caught Tsume. Kurama's face looked relieved that he was able to catch her before she rolled to the bottom of the stairs and seriously injure herself.

Tsume regained her balance and walked back up the stairs a bit, "I think something a tripped me. I felt a rock or something on the stairs." She saw nothing. "That's strange."

Kurama put his hand on Tsume's shoulder, "Let's continue on." Tsume blushed a bit as she nodded. The stairs soon ended and the two continued through a series of corridors.  
-  
Senren smiled down on the image of Tsume closely following Kurama and began to laugh. "We will use their silly emotions against them."

Jiro sat at his side, feeling a bit uncomfortable.  
-  
Hiei raced forward until he caught up with the demon. He grabbed its arm and turned the demon around so it would face him. He picked up the demon by the collar of his ragged shirt. Hiei was going to hold his katana at the demon's throat but there was a strange collar there, so he placed it at the demon's right arm.

"D-Don't hurt me…" The demon shook in fear. It looked at Hiei's angry face and red eyes and calmed itself in a matter of moments. "She is farther ahead. There is a fork in the road. Smash your way through the wall in between. Free her and all the other demons held captive, and avenge all your fellow demons." The demon instantly died from electrocution. Its small body couldn't handle all he voltage.

Hiei held the corpse in his hand, his anger vanished. The electricity was traveling to his hand but he didn't notice. He cut the collar and it fell to the ground in two pieces and laid the carcass so it would lean on the wall. He stood there in silence for a bit and continued forward in search of Ume.  
-  
Yusuke and Kuwabara soon met a stronger demon. He too wore a collar around his neck.

Yusuke was in fighting position and Kuwabara had his Spirit Sword out. The demon immediately rushed forward and grabbed them both by the necks. His grip was so tight, they could not speak, but strangely, they were able to breathe. "Your friend isn't ahead! Turn back! You will be killed!" The demon screamed. Electricity was being sent from the collar and shocked the demon. He released Kuwabara and Yusuke and slowly fell to the floor. "Don't go ahead…It's a…" one last shock came and the demon was dead.

Kuwabara and Yusuke touched their bruised throats in confusion. What was going on?

Yusuke and Kuwabara cautiously inched forward. Yusuke's foot found a stone in the ground that was pushed downward. Walls appeared and cornered them. There was no way to get out. The block ways were as tough as the previous one. It would only be a matter of time until they ran out of air.  
-  
Tsume couldn't explain why she was feeling so afraid. She felt fear for Ume's life, but mostly for her own, despite the fact nothing dangerous was even happening.

She and Kurama were just walking through a long hallway. It seemed to stretch on forever. She heard strange noises from behind and looked behind, saw nothing, and ran right into Kurama. She muttered an apology and continued ahead of him, embarrassed. Kurama's eyes followed Tsume as she took the lead and a tiny smile spread across his face.

They continued walking and were eventually standing underneath a spot where the dim light bulbs above shone especially bright. While the two were distracted, a creature from behind leapt out of the shadows and cut Kurama's back. Kurama let out a small yelp and turned around quickly. Tsume rushed to his side, but the attacker already hid itself. Tsume looked at Kurama's wound with concern. She merely glanced at it and saw the injury wasn't very deep at all, there was nothing special about it, and it seemed Kurama was fine, but Tsume was still worried. She couldn't help it.

Kurama held his breath as Tsume was examining his wounds. She was so close to him and she was so concerned. A thought crossed into his mind. He couldn't help but to think how beautiful Tsume looked under the lighting.

Tsume screamed. The damn beast came back and injured Tsume's right shoulder. Kurama used his Rose Whip and slashed the creature. It shrieked and died a bloody mess.

Tsume's wound was deeper than Kurama's. He took a closer look and saw there was some strange liquid seeping into the cut. Poison!  
-  
"Those treacherous, little demons! How dare they try to assist the enemy?" Jiro punched a wall with his bare fists.

Senren calmed Jiro down. "It does not matter. The boy in black may be arriving soon, but he will be annihilated when he arrives. The two boys are not fully warned of what is ahead, and we still have the last two in our clutches."

Senren and Jiro watched Hiei punched through the wall and ignore the searing pain. His legs pushed him on faster and faster. Dozens of demons with collars were in his way, trying to stop and kill Hiei, but all had failed. Hiei slashed his katana through every one of them, not wanting to waste his Dragon on the weaklings.

As Hiei drew closer to Ume and the main room, Senren and Jiro grew more and more anxious. Jiro was unable to sit still and stood up.

"I am going to go to the prisoner's cage and make sure he doesn't free her."

Senren nodded slightly. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead. "Kill him by any means necessary. The others will die. He is the only problem right now."

Jiro nodded and left. Ume was asleep, unaware of the battle taking place within he walls. His arm shook. He was incredibly tempted to blow her head off that instant but refrained himself. He told himself to wait. It wouldn't be too long until all wolf demons were dead, and he and his master killed Ume's friends.

He watched sat down and watched Ume. Hiei would be arriving soon. Even if he does defeat me, he will not be able to kill Senren or find the locket. When the wolves are gone, the locket will no longer be needed. All evidence that Senren was here will be destroyed, along with the intruders and all the demons held captive.

The plan was perfect. There was no flaw.

It could not, and would not fail.  
-  
Hiei threw open a final set of double doors to find Ume lying at the floor of a strange cage. He tried cutting through the odd bars with his sword but all he did was leave burn marks on his katana.

Jiro appeared out of no where and kicked Hiei in the back. Hiei turned his body around in attempt to block but was unable to. He was sent flying through the air. Jiro jumped above Hiei to kick him back to the ground. Hiei thrust his katana upward cutting Jiro's side.

Ume stirred a bit. After her rest, she felt some energy returning. She lifted her head up and saw two blurs fighting. Her vision cleared and saw one of them was Hiei. She sat up immediately and instinctively called out his name. Hiei looked over his shoulder at Ume. Jiro took the opportunity to kick Hiei. Ume looked at Hiei apologetically.

Jiro jumped backwards and knelt down to the floor, holding his wound. Hiei rushed forwards to cut Jiro again. He blocked the sword with hand and knocked it away. His hand began to bleed as well.

Hiei sent him a barrage of kicks and punches. Jiro blocked and tried to attack back. His strength was depleting and he could not match Hiei's speed. He was beginning to block less and less blows. Jiro fell to the floor, unable to move. Hiei summoned the might of his Dragon of the Darkness Flame and shot at the cage. The bars practically exploded. A wave of energy was sent from it and spread across the whole structure.  
-  
The ground shook. The walls surrounding Yusuke and Kuwabara lowered a bit. Kuwabara cut through the wall and there was actually a small break in the barrier. Yusuke fired a spirit Gun and the wall broke into pieces. They left their small prison and took deep breaths of fresh air before they resumed their search for Ume.  
-  
The mini-earthquake disturbed Tsume's sleep and she woke up. She was leaning on something and on the move. Kurama was carrying her. He stopped in his track and began to gently let Tsume down from his back.

"W-what happened?"

"…You were poisoned by that demon that attacked us. I already sucked the poison out… You've been unconscious for about five minutes."

Tsume nodded thankfully and look at her bandaged shoulder. The cloth was ripped from the sleeves of Kurama's shirt. "Has it occurred to you that something weird is going on? It is just a bad feeling that's all…but still… When I fell on the stairs, I am _sure _that I was tripped, the demon that was following us…"

"You're right…" he helped Tsume up and they continued walking. "Not to mention we have been walking for a quite some time and getting no farther."

Something suddenly dawned on Kurama. He brought out his Rose Whip and approached Tsume. She backed away wondering what was wrong with Kurama. He lifted his hand and Tsume covered her face. Kurama struck with all his might.

* * *

As you all may or may not know, I made Tsume after my friend because she loves/loved Kurama so much. It is just so funny poisoning Tsume. 

If you find the first time the demons warned the group was good, and then found it annoying the second…well, sorry. It is pretty sad that the demons are being held captive and there naturally would not be just _one_ rebelling demon, right?

I mean, how would you feel if you had a collar like a pet?

Do not answer that. You can if you want…in a review. But otherwise, don't. Ha-ha.

Okay, enough blabbing and on to the next chapter!


	7. Repenting Sacrifice

Ha-ha. For a second there I forgot where I was, so I decided to continue with some of my other stories. Also, I was on vacation for a week. If I wasn't I would've finished this ages (days) ago.

It has been so amusing telling my friend ('Tsume') I was going to kill her off in the story, but I won't…or will I? Ha-ha.

My friend was giving me lame ideas to pair herself and Kurama. I.e. she goes into a coma and Kurama waits for her for two years. I told her Kurama gets with another woman. Ha-Ha!

I am an evil author with a personality! Sue me. :Does a pose::Wind blows by in the background: Okay. I am done being lame…

P.S. I would've finished this ages ago, but we have been some troubles with the room where the computer was. It was moved to the garage and I was only able to use my sister's laptop (which did not have the FanFic file).  
----------------------------------------------------------------------  
Kurama brought down his Rose Whip with all his strength. He barely missed Tsume's head and struck the wall. Tsume sank down to the floor and reluctantly kicked Kurama back. Mid-kick, she heard a scream from behind. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. The shriek was coming from the wall.

The gray walls suddenly grew bleaker, dust was spread across, spiders and their webs were visible, more natural cracks showed themselves. A perfectly rectangular doorway appeared where Kurama had struck the wall.

Tsume sat on the ground confused. She looked at Kurama's satisfied gaze. He looked at her and apologized for scaring her.

"I wasn't…s-scared at all; just confused…."

"You said so yourself that there was something abnormal happening. We had walked into a trap. The walls itself was a demon, trapping us as we walked in an endless circle. Being trapped inside fogged our judgment and we hardly noticed. When that demon had attacked, it cleared my mind. I believe he was trying to help us escape."

"Why poison me then?" 

"I do not believe he knew the weapon was poisoned… Everything here was an illusion, especially our emotions."

"W-what do you mean?"

"You didn't feel extremely flustered and helpless here? You did not feel…"

"Romance… It was an illusion…" She said, rather than asked.

Kurama smiled gently and grabbed Tsume head gently with his right hand. He brought her head in closer to his and he kissed the top of her forehead softly then her lips.

Both their faces turned a deep, deep red. Kurama scratched the back of his gently, "It seems the effects have not completely worn off…"

"It has already worn off you though…" Tsume thought to herself. She picked herself up. 

"Let's go find Ume!" she struck the air with her fist happily and through the doorway with Kurama at her heels.

-  
Senren got up from his seat and banged his arm loudly at the armrest of his chair once more. The enemies have escaped their confinement and were off to help Hiei and Ume. His assistant was losing badly. It was time to take action.  
-  
Ume aroused from the rubble which once was her prison. She got up so slowly, Hiei was convinced she was injured. He ran to her only to find her spinning around dizzily, complaining, "Ya know, you didn't have to hit so hard…"

At first Hiei felt a bit of anger, but it shifted to tenderness as he slowly put his arms around Ume and stopped her spinning. A look on content washed over Hiei's face as Ume had a warm and gentle smile on hers.

Yusuke and Kuwabara suddenly rushed into the room. "Whoa… are we interrupting something here? We could leave." Hiei let go of Ume.

Kurama and Tsume came running into the run soon after, just barely making in time to see Hiei holding Ume. Kurama grinned and Tsume smiled widely.

"The little shorty has himself a girl…before I got Yukina." Kuwabara grabbed his head and sank to the floor in devastation. Hiei gave Kuwabara his death glare for talking about Yukina _and _making fun of him in one sentence.

Jiro lied beneath some rubble from Ume's cage, unable to move. He watched Ume and her friends talk amongst themselves, barely conscious. Senren then stepped into the room. The group yelled at Senren's hate of wolves for a bit and Senren simply smirked. Jiro's head ached dreadfully, as he touched it with his right hand, trying to steady himself. Jiro listened in on the conversation.

"You think you've won, do you? Fools! No moron would try something as important as this without a back-up plan! We will all die here!"

"What about your loyal assistant?" Ume stuttered.

"He was nothing but a pawn, like every other demon that was here, and he failed just like the rest. I am glad he is dead." Senren laughed. It was clear that failure had caused Senren to lose his mind.

"I thought you were avenging his parents." The others looked at Ume. She stared at the floor angrily. She couldn't imagine any wolf demon doing something so horrible.

"Truth be told, it was my parents who were killed. The rest of your pathetic pack was looking after you while your mother and father were searching for my parents. Jiro was born during this time. My mother and father were murderers; some of the Demon World's best, might I add. They killed humans and demons alike; anything to get what they wanted. Then your foolish parents had to get in the way and destroy them. I was quite young then and watched my parents die. I stole Jiro while they were still injured and helpless after the battle."

"Get it Ume? I stole your little brother and now he is dead! I raised him and bred him with hated of his own kind, in hopes he would help me destroy them all! He has done his part and died for a noble cause."

Jiro rose from the wreckage with newfound strength. He rushed Senren and started beating him senseless. "You stole me from my real parents! You made me hurt my _real _family! You've lied to me for all these years! How-"

Senren caught his fist. His face and body was barely scratched. Senren threw Jiro across the room and at Ume. She reached out her hands in an attempt to catch him.

Senren took his chance and ran to another room. Jiro got up and he ran after Senren, followed by the others. When they reached a different room, a doorway opened in the ground. After going down a large number of stairs, the group caught up to Jiro and Senren fighting over the locket.

Jiro grabbed the locket and threw it at Ume. Senren ran and forced some of his Demon Energy into a small hole in the wall. The whole place started to glow a crimson red color. The castle rumbled and the ceiling started to fall down on them.

"You're all too late. The locket is already weakened. When this building implodes, we are going to die, and the locket will be destroyed." Senren shot an attack at the exit and it was blocked. He held his arms up and the blockage remained in place.

Jiro turned to Ume, "Go! I will hold Senren. Take the locket and get out while you still can…"

"I…I just found another family member… I…I can't leave now…"

Jiro stood for a bit and looked at his newfound older sister. He punched her in the stomach and Ume started to fall unconscious. "I'm sorry for everything; for all the trouble I have caused…but I am going to make things right." 

Jiro caught Ume before she hit the ground and handed her to Hiei. They stared at each other for a bit. Jiro extended out his hand and hesitantly, Hiei took it. They shook and Hiei threw Ume on his back and carried her.

Jiro focused all his remaining energy into one last blow to clear the block way. He ran and grabbed Senren before he could rebuild the pile and held him down for as long as he could. Hiei and the others ran out quickly. Ume opened her eyes slightly and looked at the crumbling walls. She stared Hiei, her friends, and dozens of demons trying to escape the falling fortress. She then looked over her shoulders sleepily. She saw Jiro, holding down Senren as more debris came falling down until Ume couldn't see Jiro at all.

"B-brother…" she murmured as Hiei carried her out of the collapsing building. The castle fell, taking Senren and Jiro with it.  
------------------------------------------------------  
Are you happy now, Millie? I finished the chapter! Sheesh.

Onward march! Next chapter!


	8. Surprising Revelation

The moment the group returned from the Demon World, Ume thanked her friends for saving her and left. Hiei watched her as she stumbled and tripped over her own feet, barely avoiding trees, poles, and most importantly, cars. Hiei walked beside Ume, letting her lean on him while he guided her back home in case she got herself killed.

Hiei carried Ume into her room and set her down on her bed carefully. The moment she hit her soft mattress, her eyes closed and she smiled a sad, soft smile. "Thank you Hiei…" and was asleep instantly.

He stood there for a few moments, watching Ume sleep. He thought of all the pain she had gone through, being tortured and held captive like a…an animal. He thought of how it must feel to have found one last family member (Author's note: umm…the pack is a sort of family…but not really by blood… They are remnants of a bunch of packs and yea…in case you've forgotten and all…or I didn't mention that. Aw crud) and lost him. Hiei's mind went to Jiro being tricked throughout his life, how he realized his mistakes and repented with his life. He thought of the handshake they shared and how he had so easily forgiven Ume's brother for the trouble he caused. He dispelled his emotion and left Ume alone to rest.

Hiei walked about the dojo. He looked at the reception desk and remembered watching Ume always sitting there, writing down student's names and information. Occasionally, she would look up and smile as if she knew Hiei was watching over her. Now, the chair was completely empty, all except the dust that had been gathering for several days.

He continued to walk on and saw Ume's human parents train some small children. They saw Hiei and took a break from their lesson to go talk to him. "Did you find Ume?"

Hiei gave an indifferent nod.

"Is she o-okay?" They miss interpreted Hiei's cold stare as a sign that Ume was in danger.

Hiei responded with a less bitter reply. Ume's mother's face lit up and she ran to tell the children their favorite co-instructor had returned from her school trip (lie). The children had missed Ume who had always mocked her parents behind their backs to cheer them up after some of the longer and more difficult practices.

One little, obnoxious kid shouted out, "Is that Ume's boyfwend that she has been telling us about?" The other kids started whispering amongst themselves as Hiei gave them all a death glare. The kids felt a chill go down their spines suddenly and asked the window to be closed.

Ume's father placed his hand on Hiei's shoulder but he just shrugged it off, "Thank you for bringing my daughter back to us."

Hiei had had enough of talking with Ume's family and a bunch of little brats, so he returned to the big brat, Ume. He opened the door to her room to find she had been standing up and doing stretches. "Yo." She smiled.

"You're faking again." Hiei sighed out of annoyance, "You are still depressed with what had happened with your brother."

Ume's face dropped. "Would you really rather have me sulk…like you? You're the moody one, remember?"

"Hn. You can't possibly be happy knowing your brother died."

"Of course I'm not happy about it. No one can be happy about that, but doesn't mean I…I am just going to sit around and mope! That won't bring him back!" Ume's eyes turned a bit red as she started to blink furiously.

"At least letting it out will make you feel better. Faking contentment will do neither."

Several drops of tears fell to the ground, "I wouldn't be talking if I were you," her smile wavered as she struggled to keep it steady. Hiei gave her a fairly gentle glare.

Ume slowly started to bend forward. She leaned on Hiei's chest and started to cry a bit. He jerked backwards a bit in surprise but settled down. Hiei tilted his head forward, making contact with Ume's forehead. Ume wept silently for a few moments. They separated and Ume wiped her eyes with her sleeves. She had a sad frown on her red, wet face.

Hiei looked down at his damp cloak, then at Ume as he took it off, revealing his black shirt. He wiped the rest of the tears off her face and threw it over her head. "Err…sorry about that. I guess I'll go wash this old thing." Ume opened the door to find all the little kids listening in with her own parents in the very back. They all grinned nervously and slowly inched away from Ume who seemed to be growing angrier with every moment. They looked behind her and saw Hiei about to pull out his sword and ran for it. "I'm sorry about that too…" Ume laughed uneasily. She walked back to Hiei and kissed him on the cheek quickly and ran out the door and to the direction of the laundry room.

Hiei stood there, stunned. He touched his cheek with a confused and dazed look in face. "What the hell just happened?" he said loudly.

Ume returned shortly after, looking at Hiei lost in thought. Her mother popped up behind the door to announce Tsume has come over for a visit. The woman returned to her classes. "That reminds me… I am willing to bet Tsume kissed or Kurama or Kurama kissed her! You can se how embarrassed she is! I wonder how it happened! Oh I can't wait to ask her." Ume gave a fake, evil laugh.

Hiei walked by and kissed Ume on the lips. "Hn. Stop being so slow and let's go."

Ume blushed deeply and hurried behind Hiei, "What are you such in a rush for?"

Hiei didn't respond and continued walking.

Tsume waited by a tree outside. Ume ran up to her and they stared at each other for a bit. They circled one another and stopped at where they had started. "You kissed him!" they shouted simultaneously.

Their faces turned red. Ume stayed silent while Tsume shouted, "He kissed me!"

"You didn't want him to?"

Tsume's face turned even redder as she stumbled on her words, "No…well yes…maybe…I wasn't expecting it…I…I… That's not what I came here to talk about!" she held up her necklace, "We might be able to find out about how you and your parents got the other jewel and how they might've met!"

"What now?" Ume smiled and looked at Hiei. That's what he was so anxious about. She grabbed his arm suddenly and began to swing it excitedly. Hiei winced. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Umm, no…?" Tsume grinned and Ume laughed.

"At least _I _had an excuse. 'I have been kidnapped for the past few days and I was completely exhausted after being held prisoner in a shiny cage while protecting my _species_.' You can imagine the weird looks I would get." She turned to Hiei, "And _you_. You are supposed to be at school too!"

"Hn." He ignored her. Ume's health was fine and she seemed to getting back to her old self again, not to mention she wasn't faking her feelings again.

"Can we get back to this?" Tsume held up her necklace.

Ume took out her own locket. "How does this work…?"

The two items touched and it started to glow. Tsume closed her eyes in concentration and Ume closed her eyes to keep from going blind. In a moment, they were gone, leaving Hiei rubbing his eyes and Jagan.

The two girls appeared in the Demon World, transparent and floating. Tsume waved her arms around, trying to gain her balance in mid-air. "This is _not_ what happened last time!"

"Huh?" Ume was in a sitting position.

"I'll explain later… Will you quit sitting? This is very uncomfortable!" she yelled out, squirming because their necklaces were still connected and hanging around both their necks. "Hey, are those your parents down there?"

"You mean those two little dots?"

"They're moving dots… Let's go."

They flew down, carefully so the two necklaces wouldn't detach and watched. Two other demons chased them from behind. They ran so fast, Ume and Tsume were hardly able to keep up with them even though they were flying. A beam was shot from the pursuers and hit Ume's parents, burning and bruising their backs. They fell to the floor and got up again. "Come back with the jewels! You don't know what you are getting yourself into!" The chasers yelled out.

Tsume flinched as she realized who the voice belonged to. _Her_ parents were chasing Ume's parents…and he was talking about a jewel. Could it be that Ume's parents _stole_ the jewel? But they catch thieves and stopped the bad guys. They aren't supposed to _steal_. She looked at Ume who gazed at the scene, eager to see what would happen…or _had_ happen.

The wolf demons blasted the foxes, knocking the male unconscious as they ran once again. As they ran, they shot more blasts at the other fox demon. She dodged relentlessly, getting scratched at the arms. She attempted to strike back. "You don't understand!" Ume's mother ducked under the blow the moment she finished her sentence and struck back, knocking out the fox demon. She and her husband ran.

"I've seen enough!" Tsume yelled out. She grabbed her necklace and pulled on it, stopping the vision in its tracks and returning to the front of Ume's house. Tsume fell to the ground on her feet but Ume dropped right above Hiei, forcing him to catch her. He set her down gently (I am not completely sure, but I think I had a part where Hiei caught Ume then just dropped her… I think it was the first or second story? I don't know anymore. If I _did_ put that, this is a romantic twist, huh?) and Ume marched up to Tsume, demanding an explanation.

"It was getting interesting! We didn't learn anything yet!"

"Well I learned all _I _needed to know! Your family _stole_ that jewel from _my _family and turned it into a locket so you could _hide _it from us. My parents were playing nice and not saying anything about the jewel. You damn thieves robed my family! You people crippled my mother. She wasn't always able to walk around like she did in the vision! Your parents blasted her! It is your fault!" Tsume continued to scream, drops of tears formed in her eyes. Her hands glowed as she was poised to attack Ume.   
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Hmm…Tsume…my friend is attacking Ume. Yep. Sounds like my life. Hah!


	9. Voices

Gosh-dangit! I have written almost this whole chapter on the first day…then I ran out of ideas and started to procrastinate like heck. Sorry.  
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Hiei drew out his sword and moved in front of Ume in one quick motion, blocking Tsume's glowing, empowered fist when she jumped into the air and headed straight down. Tsume bounced backwards with an angry, but hurt look on her face. She swung her arms downward. "Wind Slash!" (See story 2, chapter 9 if you have forgotten all the attacks…like me) Energy made cracks in the ground as they flowed towards Ume and Hiei. They jumped out of the way, moments before the beams would have reached them. The beams started to head for Ume's house. Suddenly, Tsume's face filled regret as she remembered Ume's house had her human parents and a bunch of innocent, little children learning to fight inside.

Ume jumped in front of the blow immediately and crossed her arms. "Wolf Ray!" The attacked shot out and met with Tsume's. Fortunately, the attacks cancelled out each other without making too big of an explosion. Ume's face had a slightly angry look on it.

Tsume's hand started to shake but immediately stopped as she attacked once again. She drew out her Fire Blade. Heat swirled from the blade and shot out. Hiei was about to counter with his Dragon of the Darkness Flame but Ume rushed Tsume and the blast, head on. She covered her head and face as the hem of her shirt and body was being burnt. She kept flying towards Tsume, and when she was close enough, Ume gave Tsume a hard punch to the face. She touched the floor with her feet as Tsume fell and hit the ground, hard. "There must be more to the story than just that. Our friendship shouldn't be ruined by…"

Hiei stuck out his arm to silence Ume as they both watched Tsume get up. "'…by something as stupid as this'? Is that what you were going to say? I will not forgive you!"

"Forgive me? Wait…what did you see in the vision?"

"You purposely did all that! I saw it myself! You…you and your brother were there too! Tell me…when was all this? When did it all happen? Why do you pretend not to know anything about your parents when you clearly have spent time with them?"

"What are you talking about?" Ume dodged another oncoming blow. Tsume was obviously upset, making her attacks predictable.

"Stop lying!"

Ume's voice went from a somewhat annoyed and calming tone to a frustrated one. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" (Okay, okay! A little more than frustrated!)

Tsume was surprised to see Ume so angry. She searched for words to talk back as she tumbled backwards, but was unable to find them. She jumped up and disappeared, leaving behind drops of water on the ground, being dried up by the hot, morning sun. Ume punched a support beam of her house without breaking it and fell to the floor. Hiei stared at her and disappeared as well, to let Ume let her frustration out by herself.

He raced to Kurama's school and found him sitting by the window and writing down notes on a piece of paper, occasionally lifting his head up to stare at Tsume's empty seat and smile. He instinctively looked outside the window and saw Hiei. He asked to be excused to the bathroom and with his good reputation with the teachers; he was let out with no fuss at all. He met Hiei in the hallway. "What's wrong?"

"Tsume discovered something bad about Ume. She attacked her and ran off. She might come to see you."

"What was it?"

"Like I would know…" Hiei sounded extremely agitated. "There was also something else strange about what had happened…though I can not seem to grasp it… I'm almost certain Ume noticed it too…"

"I will see if I can calm her down a bit."

Footsteps approached at a running pace. Hiei left the building and listened to the conversation from the outside.

"Kurama…I…I found something about Ume's parents…they…she...ARGH!" Tsume was so angry, she couldn't speak. Tsume started to bang her feet on the ground to control her anger. "I can't believe something like that could've happened…I was so blind…her family is terrible…and…" Clearly, she wasn't saying what she wanted to at all.

"First off, tell me what you are talking about." He said, trying to make it seem he had no idea what had happened.

"We used the jewels today to find out about our pasts and how our parents might've been connected and I saw something horrible that Ume's parents did to mines…. I am sensitive when it comes to my family. Something practically possessed me and I was attacking Ume before I even knew it…I was so angry…but I hardly know why. It makes sense for me to be angry because of what I saw, but not to be _that _angry. Well, I had the right, but I normally wouldn't have reacted like that." Tsume began to ramble uncontrollably. She shook in what seemed not like anger…but like fear.

Kurama was going to tell Tsume some comforting words but Tsume seemed to get even angry the moment Kurama tried. She went from sounding frightened to furious once again. Hiei watched the catastrophe from the outside and shook his head in frustration. "Where the hell is she going now?" he thought as he ran off to follow her. Kurama left school and followed Hiei, concerned.

Hiei lost track of her not to long after a few blocks of running, so he decided to go back to Ume and tell her what had happened. Kurama decided to split up with Hiei and further his pursuit. Hiei found Ume sitting on the porch of her house, her knees over the steps, holding a damp towel to her burns and bandaging them. When she saw Hiei, she ran to him quickly and asked what had happened. Hiei reported the news reluctantly and Ume grew concerned. She grabbed Hiei's arm and squeezed it a bit. Calming down, she pulled away and with Hiei, they went off to find Tsume.

As they searched, Ume clutched at her jewel and prayed her friend didn't do something dramatic. Something was wrong with her. She and Hiei both felt it…something certainly was _not _right… The two found Yusuke and Kuwabara, skipping P.E. and sitting on the roof of their school. When they saw Ume, they started to laugh. "What the heck happened to you?" they stared at her burnt clothes, bandages body, and revealed belly button.

"Oh, shut up!" Ume yelled, blushing. She had completely forgotten about the way she looked and didn't change clothes. She calmed herself and told the two immature idiots of what happened with Tsume. They happily ditched school to help search for her.

"Why didn't Hiei say anything about your burnt clothes?" Yusuke questioned, trying to hide a laugh.

"He probably liked the outfit change." Kuwabara snickered. Ume punched them both on the shoulder and elbowed the both of them very hard when no one was looking.

By the time the sun had set, the group had searched the entire city, and found nothing. They ran into Kurama who had also found nothing to tell the whereabouts of Tsume.  
"This is really bad." Kuwabara said.

Someone, whether it was Ume or Hiei, was going to say something about Yusuke idiotic statement but decided that it was not the time to joke around.

It was then decided that Kurama was to go into Demon World to search for Tsume while the others searched in the Human World. They figured even if they had found Tsume, Kurama would be the only one able to calm her down…well…Ume figured.

Hiei and Yusuke separately searched the residential areas, inside empty apartment buildings and Hiei peered into random residents with his Jagan. Ume searched the outskirts of town and several miles outside too while Kuwabara checked some of Tsume's usual places. Hours later, they met in the middle of the city and reported their finds; nothing. They sat at near the portal to Demon World, awaiting Kurama's return.

Fortunately, Kurama had, indeed, found Tsume, sitting in the hollow spot in the trunk of a dead, leafless tree. She was hugging her knees tightly and muttering quiet words to herself. Kurama neared the trunk and peered inside and at Tsume.

"Are you okay? Why did you run off?"

At first, Tsume was hesitant to speak up, but cast away her doubts. "…I don't even know…It's so strange. I had no control over my actions…" she said with a confused tone. "I attacked Ume…and now she hates me. She was so angry at me…she hardly ever yells…I mean…yell and actually, really _mean _it. The only time she is ever angry is when she is just joking around and mad at enemies… Am I her enemy now? I think I just struck my own only friend and lost her."

"Wait…what? What about me?" Kurama tried to cheer her up and sound confused at the same time.

"Friend-who-is-a-girl I meant…"She wiped her tears away and laughed a little at Kurama. "She hates me now."

Kurama gave her a gentle smile. "I bet she doesn't. Ume is hardly one to hold very big grudges. Look at how she forgave…Jiro."

"Thanks … But I do not know how I can face her now… I could've killed her. I might lose it again."

"I'll be there too. I'll help. Things will be fine."

Tsume nodded. She slowly and carefully crawled out of the hollow space and faced Kurama. "There's something else too…" Tsume said, stammering. "When I was in the Human World, I couldn't think about anything _but_ my anger and what had happened. I could've _killed_ Ume…"

Kurama nodded understandingly. "You have already mentioned that. It's going to be fine."

"But that's not all that happened! I _wanted _to." Tsume began to shake. "I heard a voice. It sounded familiar but I'm not really sure. It was blurry and I couldn't remember it clearly. It kept telling me 'Ume is a traitor', 'Ume has to be killed', 'Destroy that evil demon', and 'She killed your parents!'"

"Hiei was right," Kurama though to himself.

I was too angry when I was near Ume, so I went to see you… Even away from Ume, the voice yelled at me, and when I tried to tell you what was happening, random and angry words came out instead."

"So you came here…to the Demon World…and the voice is…"

"…not talking to me here. Maybe it went away." She said hopefully. Kurama shook his head.

"_I_ will go back to the Human World and get the others here…Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei will help me detain you and we will bring Ume. If you don't react, the case will be that you only hear the voice can only reach you in the Human World. If you _still_ get angry, it will be because Ume is near." Tsume nodded reluctantly and stood where she was while Kurama returned to the rest of the group, hoping the outcome was the first option.  
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Once again, sorry for taking so long. I feel especially bad because I could've finished this chapter so early.

Please tell me if there are any typos. I don't like typos!


	10. Kurama's Old Friend

I would've finished this chapter long ago, but I had to update three chapters of my other fan fiction before Halloween…and then I uploaded a chapter in my fiction press site. And here I am now… I'll finish each faster because one of the fan fictions is done. I PROMISE!   
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Kurama led the others through the portal to where Tsume was. Ume walked slowly in the back of the group, thinking about what would happen. She saw Hiei roll his eyes and she smiled a bit, feeling ever so slightly better.

Tsume stepped from behind a nearby and tree and stared uncomfortably at Ume. After a few minutes, both girls were grinning. They hugged each other briefly and turned to the boys. "I can only hear the voice in the Human World!" Tsume said cheerfully.

"Hearing a voice _anywhere _isn't something to be happy about." Kuwabara mumbled. Tsume gave him a glare and quickly forgot about it.

"He's right though. Not to mention we need to figure out what that voice is and why it is telling you to kill me." Ume said calmly.

Tsume nodded. "But before we do…what did you see on your side of the vision?"

"I saw…" Ume took in a deep breath. "…My parents stealing your jewel. They ran and struck your mother…" she shook her head sorry. "But I don't know what you saw. I was never there and neither was Jiro! I think the voice must've messed with your mind a bit. But it's gone while you are here…"

Tsume shook her head. A tiny, inaudible bell made a single ringing noise in the back of her mind. "B-but you parents _h-hurt _mymom!" she thought, shaking her head again, wiping away the noises and her thoughts. **_"Traitor." The bell rang out, louder this time._**

Tsume turned around, thinking she heard a noise. It was the Demon World. Of course it was noisy. She shrugged it off. 

Ume shook her head regretfully. "S-Something must've happened. I'm sure that is the reason." She ran out of things to say. Tsume nodded, understandingly.

"What now…?" Tsume asked. Ume seemed confused. "I can't return to the Human World…I'll just try to kill you again…"

Ume made no reply. "Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I will return to the Human World. Maybe we could find out what's going on. You two could stay and investigate here…" she stopped and hung her head. Tsume nodded.

The boys and Ume left Tsume and Kurama alone. She looked at Kurama. "Now what do we do?"

"I might know an informant that could tell us something about a demon who could invade one's mind…" Kurama answered then spoke reluctantly. "…Or…"

"..Cause insanity?" Tsume finished. "That's good news. Lead the way."

Kurama stopped in his tracks. "You're going to have to be unconscious." Tsume's face showed her surprise. "The demon is very paranoid he will be found out. If there's a stranger looking for information, he can't have anyone know where he is. Otherwise, he will not see us. He has betrayed hundred of demons and they are all after him."

"You know the strangest people…" Tsume sighed and stood. Her eye twitched one or twice. "Fine, knock me out." She closed her eyes, awaiting Kurama's blow.

Kurama laughed. He raised a small plant only found in the demon world. It was a sort of flower. It opened and sprayed a floral powder at Tsume's face. She passed out and Kurama caught her before she hit the ground. Throwing her over his shoulder, he took off into the Demon World to find his old friend.  
-  
Ume stared at the ground after arriving back in the Human World. The boys walked ahead of her, discussing their next move. Hiei glanced backwards at Ume and slowed down his pace. He kept his eyes closed whilst they walked together. "Stop worrying. This kind of thing doesn't seem to suit you."

"Well excuse me if I'm worried Tsume's gonna go insane, kill me, then herself!" She almost shouted, but held back so the others wouldn't hear her. She dropped her voice. "It is difficult not knowing."

"Which is why you should stop moping and do something." He said coldly.

Ume let out a sigh and quickened her pace to the boys ahead while looking back and whispering, "Yea. You're right…I guess…" She joined up in the conversation with the other boys, but they couldn't really think of much to do from where they were.  
-  
Tsume's eyes fluttered open. The area around her came into focus as she realized Kurama had taken her away. She was leaning on a wall in a place that seemed to be made out of stone. No light helped Tsume see. It seemed like a cave. She groped her way around to find it was just a small room with no openings or exits. She began to panic. What had happened to Kurama? Is he hurt? Where is he and where is she? What was going on?

A bell rang in the back of her mind again. This time, Tsume heard it. She searched the area, but found no such bell and shrugged it off again. She heard a voice. It began as a mumble and grew louder, but Tsume couldn't sort out the words.

Suddenly, the side of the wall slide to the side. Kurama and hooded, ugly, green-looking demon with jagged and yellow teeth stood. He was skinny and pretty wrinkly with blue eyes that stared worriedly at Tsume. He moved his hand behind him and the wall slide back into place. Kurama rushed over to Tsume, wondering what was wrong. Tsume shook her head feeling ridiculous and looked at the strange demon strangely.

As if to read her mind, the demon spoke. "I have a name and do not wish to reveal it to any outsiders. You do not know how many desire my head on their wall for betraying secret information to not only Kurama, but others I trust. You also do not know how they constantly keep one eye and any extras out for me to kill me on sight. Centuries ago, there was a time many were killed just for _looking _like me."

"I only allowed you here into my domain because my dear, old friend Kurama said you were trustworthy. He tells me of something strange happening? He tells me you are losing you mind." Tsume let a stray, playful glare at Kurama. "Those weren't his words exactly, of course. Anyways, describe to me what you heard and saw."

"Well… "Tsume paused. "Wait, wait. First of all, how can we breathe under here? I've searched this whole place with my bare fingers and felt no air holes of any kind.

"There are very small holes of air that are virtually invisible…but I suppose I should make those larger since you two need air more than I do…and judging the by the looks of things…" He glanced around as though he could _see_ air. "You are running a bit low." He waved his hand above their heads and what seemed like dots began to grow larger. A rush of air filled and renewed Tsume's lungs as she took a deep breath.

"As I was saying…" She held up her necklace reluctantly. "I combined this with its other half and saw the visions of my friend's and my own parents. I saw something completely different than she did. When the vision stopped, I heard a voice. It sounded familiar as if I had heard it before. It kept telling me what a traitor Ume was and how I should've killed her. I guess I just lost it and attacked. I fled to here where the voice just stopped…"

The demon nodded slowly and repeatedly. "How did you feel about the voice when you thought you knew it?"

"I felt confused and panicky I guess."

"Is that all…?" he asked in a more commanding voice.

Tsume's face lit up. "N-No! I think I also felt…angry. What does that mean?"

"It was a person you knew. A person you hated; so much so that even though you couldn't completely compute the voice, you knew it was someone you didn't like and despised..."

Kurama jumped into the conversation, "Naturally, if Tsume hated this other person, the other would probably hate her or at the very least, Ume since she is the target of attacks. Do you know anyone who can enter ones mind in such a way, old friend?"

The demon looked to the side. "There existed a small bunch of demons that could, but many years ago, they were killed. I've heard rumors one lived; just one. I'm not sure what his name is or what he has been doing in his life. I have probably recorded in my earlier works, but now I do not know. A lot of information goes through my head and I do not remember it all."

"What do you mean by 'works'?" Tsume asked.

"He records all his information in his books. Those in the wrong hands could lead to much disaster." Kurama answered while the demon nodded in agreement. He waved his hand to the side and the rocks began to move and shift. About five books appeared by their side from the ground. Kurama picked one up carefully and blew the dust off it. "I'm assuming this is about the time you found out about our mysterious demon?"

The demon nodded and waved his hand again. The rocks moved once more, bringing a lantern and a small box of matches. "Enjoy." The demon opened a rock-door. "I'll be napping. You are safe and will not be disturbed here. It is quiet. No one knows of my underground home. Have fun." The door of earth slid to a shut, closing off all the light, leaving Kurama and Tsume in the dark together.  
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	11. The Demon Behind the Whispers

See? What did I say? I told you this chapter would come out sooner!

Please read my Gundam SEED fan fiction if you like the series. It is good and I, personally, _love_ the ending! Thank you kindly.  
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Kurama looked at where Tsume was before it went dark. He heard her cussing under her breath. She suddenly spoke up. "This is pretty awkward…isn't it? The second time we've been trapped somewhere together. It's the exact same thing."

"Well…it's not really. The first time, we didn't really know we were trapped…but I know what you mean." He heard Tsume chuckle.

"Okay fine. You're right. This isn't the same..."

"What do you mean? Are we different from before?"

"I meant that we aren't unknowingly trapped by a demon wall thing, but now that you've mentioned it…" Tsume scooted closer toward Kurama. "We are a bit different from last time."

Kurama heard Tsume approach, but didn't move at all. "How do you figure?"

"Well…" she started to say, embarrassed and red in the dark. Tsume was beginning to believe she was so red, she was able to glow. "Since then…we've been closer I guess. We've… well…kis-" She was interrupted by the sound of something falling over and smashing. Tsume had knocked over the lantern left over. "Oh no, I'm so sorry." She moved away from the red-headed boy, accidentally cutting herself on some broken glass. "Ouch. Crud…"

Kurama found and lit a match and held it to Tsume's face, then to her bleeding hand. He picked up and held her hand in his. The light was dim so he couldn't tell the wound was a very small one. "Are you okay?"

Tsume coughed and laughed nervously. "Yes…yes! I'm fine. It's just a scratch." _But it stings a whole lot_, she thought to herself.

Kurama looked at Tsume's hands and it had finally hit him that he was holding them. He let them go quickly and turned his face away. "Let's continue looking for the information. This could take some time…"

"It's way too…err…d-dark in here." Tsume looked at the small, flickering match. A thought hit her. She focused her Spirit Energy and made a sword that seemed to be on fire (see story 2, chapter 9). The flames lit up the whole room. Carefully, Tsume placed it so it would stand up and picked up a book. "How's this?"

"I-It's better…" Kurama picked up a book as well. "I guess we should get this over with…"  
-  
Ume smacked herself in the forehead in frustration. "We've searched every human library, every demon in the city, and asked Botan and Koenma, but we've come up with _nothing!_ This is horrible. What if Kurama and Tsume haven't found anything out either? What will happen then?"The group sat in the very back table of a small, nearly empty café, separated from the few other people there. Kuwabara silently sipped his soda in slight fear. Hiei gazed at his straw funnily and threw it to the side, chugging down his drink without it; his eyes closed calmly. Yusuke motioned his arms in an up and down motion, showing that he thought Ume should calm down. The other people in the café looked at the youngsters with annoyed looks that showed how much they wanted the girl to shut up and let them enjoy themselves in peace. Yusuke tried to interrupt. "We could just wait and-"

"Is Tsume just going to stay in the Demon World?" At the sound of 'demon', the people rolled their eyes in disbelief, and tried to ignore Ume. She continued to panic.

"Well maybe they found-" Yusuke tried to speak up again.

"What about school and all of our friendships? _For Pete's sake! What about Kurama?"_

"Wait. What about Kurama?" Yusuke asked. Kuwabara stopped sucking on his straw and swallowed his last gulp loudly, grinning. Hiei opened his eyes suddenly and he gazed at Ume with curiosity.

"What? What about him?" Ume asked, trying her best to sound confused. Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed despite the serious situation at hand. "Well, we're all friends…well, except maybe Hiei…" She let out a stupid and edgy laugh. "…and Kurama would be upset at losing any friend and…umm…" She had no idea what excuse to tell. Ume didn't want to say anything further about the two's relationship, even though it was already obvious to the boys. "Who cares anyways? The point is," Ume continuously jabbed her right index finger onto her left palm to further her statement. "We need to do something about this." Ume chugged down her cup of tea to excuse herself from talking anymore.

Hiei raised his glass higher up, swallowing the last of his foamy drink. "Kurama was a thief; and a good one. He knows other demons with _information_, there's no doubt about that. The two will find something. Now stop your worrying. It's giving me a headache."

Yusuke groaned loudly. "That's what I've been trying to say all along!!"

Ume looked at him. "You didn't say anything."

Kuwabara looked at Hiei's serious face and began to crack up again. "You've got a little something on your face." Kuwabara pointed at his own face, above his own lips. Hiei touched the spot on his face and found some white cream from his drink. "Why don't you ask Ume to go and wipe off with _her lips_?" Yusuke chuckled a little, feeling better about being ignored earlier.

_They both, apparently and unfortunately, knew about…well…Hiei's and my…Jeez. Was it that obvious we had…_Ume's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Hiei throwing Kuwabara on the floor. The others that were in the café slammed down money on the table and took their leave in fury and irritation.

"Jeez." Ume said to her friends while trying to keep Hiei from killing Kuwabara in broad daylight with witnesses. "What's their problem?"

Kuwabara crawled away from Hiei desperately while Hiei tried to worm his way from Ume's grip. Yusuke sat back in his chair, making it tilt backwards. "You are clueless to everything around you when a friend's in trouble." Yusuke sighed. "Like right now. You probably don't even know you are holding Hiei."

"Shut up. I am not that clueless……umm……" Ume looked down at Hiei and raised her arms in the air swiftly. She held them up high above her head with her elbow at an angle, so it sort of looked like the police had told her she was under arrest. Hiei tumbled forward in surprise and nearly crashed into Kuwabara. More people began to leave the café.  
-  
They spent what seemed like hours, reading. Every now and then, when the silence was completely unbearable, Tsume would look up at her trusted friend, and maybe…something much more. She'd look back at the text in the books before Kurama realized she was watching. Kurama would often see her looking and smirk. Tsume would laugh on the inside and they'd both return to reading; slower than before no doubt.

Out of nowhere, a deep, grim frown crossed Kurama's face. "What's wrong?" Tsume asked, catching the scowl when she had looked up at him for the millionth time. "Did you find something out already?"

Kurama dragged his finger along the words of the book his friend had written and read out loud. "'There is only one demon I have ever known or met with such astonishing. I've spent quite some time studying him and following him. It's great and interesting, but sadly, I'll never see him after this. He's an unstable demon; a little wrong in the head. He had a child following him around. The little one didn't seem special at all; as a matter a fact, he seemed downright weak. Back on the main subject…A scarring past could be what caused the problems; a disappointment, maybe even a lover.'" Kurama paused for a brief moment at that last word. He took a deep breath before continuing again. "'The power, in action and used the way it was, is something I'd never forget.'" Tsume scoffed.

"'It was enough…no, more than that, to destroy one's mind from the inside out, to drive one into complete insanity. Before I forget, I must write this all down. As far as I could tell, as long as he stays in the same world as his victim, he can enter their mind. He whispers to them and virtually controls their movements I believe. He uses their weaknesses and doubts to turn one against their allies and do his bidding'" Kurama's eyes strayed from the book at the sound of Tsume gasping softly. She shook in anticipation. Finally, they had an answer. Who was this demon? Was there a weakness or an end to this madness? They were about to find out.

"'Though, a powerful and strategic move, there are always downsides to such influence. As I have written, it only works if they are in the same world. It is completely different if he is in the Human World and the victim is in the Demon or Spirit. His powers do not reach that far. Secondly, the power takes a lot out of him. After each use, he is blacks out. Each use doesn't seem to last incredibly long either. If the victim's will is strong enough and their trust in their friend can withhold, the demon's control will have no affect. The only way, as far as I have been able to see, to stop this beast, is to destroy him.'" Kurama let the last few words trail off. His eyes widened as he stared at the black, inky words. Tsume nudged him and urged him to continue to read out loud. "'The demon's name, as I've heard his little, what I assume, child calls him is 'Senren'.'"


	12. Difficult Decisions

Tsume looked at Kurama, her mouth open and gaping. "That's impossible. He died…"

Kurama looked at Tsume with a grim expression. "He could've gotten out. He is a strong demon… He might've followed us to the Human World or found his own portal and is too weak to follow you here."

"But why…why try to control me?"

"You would've had the most reason to kill Ume, especially after changing your vision."

Tsume leaned on Kurama so that her head was on his shoulder. "What about Jiro…How are we going to tell Ume?"

Kurama's mouth curved to a frown, as he changed the subject. "Senren can influence virtually anyone's mind, so long as he has the anger towards wolf demons and the strength to…"

Tsume perked up. "Which means…she's in danger right now." Kurama was already pounding on the walls, calling his friend to get them out.

The demon appeared in the center of the room by Tsume. "What is it? Are you finished with your research?"

Tsume gave him a serious nod. "Yes! Now get us out of here! Our friend is in trouble!"

The demon seemed taken back by Tsume's loyalty and nodded. Almost immediately, Kurama and Tsume were above ground again. Tsume looked around, wondering what was going on. Wasn't she supposed to be unconscious so she didn't know where the hideout was?

As if to read her mind, the demon's voice boomed out. "If Kurama, my old friend, can trust you, I am convinced you will not reveal the location of my hideout." He paused for a few moments. "And judging by your actions in my home, you don't seem to be very bright or much of a threat." Though the demon meant to be trusting, he still ticked Tsume off with his last comment. "Goodbye my…friends. Go stop Senren."

"Hey wait. I thought you said you didn't know the demon with that weird ability." Tsume exclaimed. Kurama smirked as if he saw this type of thing coming from his old ally. The demon's voice disappeared.

"He just wanted to judge your character. He probably figured you were safe from Senren and thought Ume was safe…" Kurama took a deep sigh. "But he doesn't know how Senren is now; how much stronger he is. No doubt he has enough energy to take control of the others…"   
-  
After what happened in the café, Ume repeatedly apologized to the boys. She figured she needed some alone time to cool her head before she sent Hiei and Kuwabara to the hospital. She heard a rustling in the bushes. Normally, she would've thought it was something suspicious, but she shrugged it off. Ume thought it was nothing but an ordinary human messing around or something. She actually smirked at the idea of fun at a time like this.

Further down the block, Ume still heard the rustling again. She turned around and yelled, "Come out, whoever you are." The rustling stopped. Behind her, appeared two shadows. They both grabbed Ume's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" It turned out to just be Tsume and Kurama.

"Jeez! You two almost gave me a heart attack! What were you doing; sneaking around like that?"

"What are you talking about? We just got here…aw who cares? We need to tell you…" Tsume said.

A blinding whitish-blue color shot at her. Kurama tackled her to the ground to evade the blow without any serious injuries. There was no mistaking that attack. It was definitely the Spirit Gun. Yusuke stood in the middle of the sidewalk, facing his friends with his index finger pointed out. His eyes seemed lifeless and dull. He didn't blink.

Ume turned around at a mysterious sound. Kuwabara swung down with his Spirit Sword. Ume turned at an angle so the strike just barely missed slicing her in half. Though she didn't _exactly _know what was happening, she guessed there was something wrong with the two; the same thing that had happened to Tsume.

After Kuwabara missed, Ume swung her leg back and kicked Kuwabara as hard as she could in the shin. Though he felt the pain, the boy barely reacted, so Ume spun around with her leg extended so she'd trip Kuwabara.

Just as Kuwabara hit the ground, Hiei jumped from the sky and began to fall to the ground with his sword out and pointed down at the top of Ume's head. When she realized a threat was above her and looked up, Kuwabara jumped in the way and blocked Hiei with his Spirit Sword. Mumbling, he managed to say, "A voice…really strong and loud…really bad. You need to escape."

Kuwabara pushed Hiei away with his own sword. His body froze for a few seconds. Ume stared at the three before Tsume and Kurama each grabbed her arms. They jumped away from the area to flee. After a fair distance, they decided their other friends couldn't find them in a bunch of trees. Ume hadn't said a word, she looked completely stunned.

Tsume began to shake Ume a bit. "Hey. Are you okay?"

She shook her head slightly and regained her composure. "Yeah…sure…" She looked at Tsume and leaned her head backwards and rested it on a tree with her eyes closed, sitting on her knees. "This isn't good…" She sighed and sat up. "What about you two? I meant…aren't you two affected by this stupid…voice thing?" Tsume and Kurama exchanged glances. Tsume kneeled down to speak to Ume at eye level.

"Well…" Tsume began, "first off, the voice doesn't reach to other worlds from one. We were in the Demon World, so we weren't hit. Second, it's Senren."

"What?" Ume exclaimed.

"Senren's…alive. I don't know about Jiro though. I guess he still wants all the wolf demons gone…" she said in a more quiet tone. "He probably was able to talk to me for so long because he only whispered. Since he's _controlling_ the three and all at once the way he is, he must be worn out. That's why Kurama and I aren't affected. His control will probably end soon. He was probably expecting to already have killed you and forgot about myself and Kurama."

Ume managed to absorb all this new information quickly, thinking the two wouldn't be kidding about something so serious, nor would they be telling her if they weren't completely sure. "But what if Senren makes the others do something dangerous? What if he makes them kill each other just to get them out of the way? It'll be my fault…! I…" Ume's whole body shook as she spoke.

Kurama decided to try and comfort Ume too. "They'll be fine. You know all of them well and you know they will _not_ die so easily."

Ume nodded and stood, trying to pretend she was full of strength and confidence, when really, she was still edgy. "So how do we find Senren?"

"He leaves a clear trail of red Demon Energy that appears overhead after he finishes using his abilities. The moment he's done, we have to search for him." Kurama replied.

"What about Hiei and the others?" Ume asked. Tsume noticed that she only said Hiei's name.

"We'll have to just trust them to be alive and maybe even have enough sense and energy to follow the trail as well…" he said grimly.

"A-Alright. I trust them…" She didn't sound very convincing, but it was good enough for Tsume.

"Let's go. If we can find a high point in the city, we should be able to spot the trace easier." Tsume stood up, offering her hand to help Ume up too. She stared at the hand for a few moments before grabbing it and standing as well.

With a nod, Ume took off ahead of the others. Feeling that she seemed better and less depressed, Kurama and Tsume smiled at each other. Giving one another a nod, they followed. After reaching the top of a tall building, they saw the trail appear overhead instantly from the south and stretched to the north, away from the city. To the south where the red line had appeared, Ume spotted the boys lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Her legs were glued to the top of the building; torn between helping her friends and finding the jerk that caused their pain.

Tsume touched Ume's shoulder with her hand. She didn't turn to face her concerned ally. Instead, she closed her eyes and nodded in understanding. She took off after the red, swearing to make _sure _she killed Senren this time. Ume kept ahead of Tsume and Kurama. She felt sure her face was full of tears and hate for the murderer who killed her brother and possibly killed her friends. She didn't want them to see her expression, what ever it was.  
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Was that chapter a little disappointing? I thought it was. Sorry, but I didn't have many ideas. The next one will have more events, I promise… I hope.


	13. Dashing Off

Sorry. This one took forever… I've been procrastinating like crazy lately.   
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Three shadows jumped atop the roofs of the buildings with one far in the lead. People on the ground stared up at the sky, pointing at the red color streaking across the sky. A wave of murmurs rose from the crowds. "What is that?" "What's going on…?" "Oh dear…" "It's the end of the world!" and the occasional, "Did you just see something go over us?"

"What's going on," Tsume asked Kurama. "How can they see Senren's trail?"

"Shouldn't you be asking how _we _can see it?" Ume piped in.

"Senren's especially exhausted. He was controlling Yusuke, Hiei, _and _Kuwabara all at once. No doubt he is too weary to conceal his trail like he's done before. This time, he will not escape." Kurama said.

Tsume nodded and followed the red line. She saw the track flicker a bit, and then return to its normal, red, visible self. "What was that?"

"We must be running out of time…"

Ume clenched her fist. "He's not getting away!" She ran ahead of the others and out of sight.

Tsume sighed. "I'm beginning to hate Ume's irritable side…" Kurama remained silent as they both sped up and chased after Ume and their enemy.  
-  
Senren sat against a tree. He looked horrible. Heavy, dark bags were underneath his eyes from lack of sleep; too many thoughts of revenge. His skin was wrinkly in some places, yet perfectly smooth in others, making him look deformed. He was decorated with scratches and bruises from head to toe. Half of his face was squashed in when his home had collapsed on top of him.

Worst of all, he wore a hideous, vengefully angry expression. His smile was gruesome and full of murderous intent. He looked nothing like the fairly young, handsome demon he was before. It was clear. Senren had lost his mind.

Senren stared at the rotting mother-bear corpse he had killed earlier. "Stupid creature; born as nothing but an animal. Too wolf-like for my tastes…" The baby cub nudged gently at its mother, whining and whimpering, believing she was merely asleep.

The demon looked at the pathetic creature. He approached the cub with his arm extended. The bear growled, standing between the threat and his mother. Deciding against using his powers and further tiring himself, Senren grabbed the animal by its neck. The beast bit into Senren's demon skin, releasing a shot of blood and some sort of poisonous gas. The cub whimpered, choking on the toxic breeze.

Senren smirked. "Shut up." In an instant, he crushed the bear cub's neck and slouched on another tree. The gas filled the air. Senren took a long breath, absorbing the air into his body. "The prey's coming. I'll extinguish her yet… This cave is too perfect." Senren laughed. "I'll kill her. Whether with my powers, with my knives, or with poison; she'll die. I will die, and so will she, and so will all her friends; her disgusting allies. The wolves will die. One by one…One by one…One by one…"

He continued to chant. The echoes bounced off the walls of the cave and to the outside. "One by one…."

Senren stood up. He walked unsteadily away from the scene of the death, still muttering to himself. He smile grew even wider. "The plan _will_ work."  
-  
The trail twisted past dozens of trees; up, down, left, right, diagonally. It was amazing Senren had been able to leave such a difficult trail after being so tired. Tired, anxious, and fairly far ahead of the other two, Ume touched the red mark for a few moments. They swirled around her fingers for a few moments, as if scanning her. Then, in a flash, the small part Ume had touched wrapped tightly around her finger.

A vision of a river appeared in Ume's mind; screaming, a waterfall, blood. A trap…  
The redness let go of Ume. It had flickered again. Ume moved her hand quickly to avoid being trapped in the visions again. She shook a bit and ran after the trail again, making note to never try that ever again.

Soon enough, she came across the same river she had seen in her vision. Ume's ears jerked and twitched a bit. The sound of a waterfall was near. She followed it. Standing where the water met gravity and fell, she looked upwards, then down. The red trail shot downward and into a ledge that was hidden behind the falling water. Ume grabbed a tree branch, took a deep breath, and jumped off the edge. When she reached the part where she had seen the ledge, she pushed on the branch with her both her legs. The branch flew out and into the water far below, and Ume forced her way through the water and rolled into a hollow cave.

Ume had been expecting bats to fly out since she had caught the scent of the little rats with wings. She then realized she also smelled blood. The red trail was bright enough to light up the dark cave. All across the ground were hundreds of bats glowed in an eerie, red glow. The cave reeked of death.

Ume ripped a part of her shirt and tied it to the outer rimming of the cave. The wind from the inside blew of the fabric causing it to wave in the air outside.

Ume caught another smell in the dank cave, but ignored it, figuring it was just more carcasses. Honestly, she didn't want to know what else was in there.

Careful not to crush any of the dead bats (or whatever else was there), she slowly walked passed them, filled with more hate at Senren than ever before. Ume screamed. "Senren! I know you're in here! Come out you coward!!"

A laugh so loud rang out. Echoing off the walls, it hurt Ume's sensitive wolf-ears. "What's wrong, little wolf," he asked, mockingly. Ume stared at the ground ahead. The line of dead bats stopped, only to give a clear area for the bodies of two wolves. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Does it remind you of your family; your parents maybe? Or you foolish _brother_?"

Ume closed her jaw tightly together to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs. She wouldn't give Senren the satisfaction of knowing he had upset her greatly.

The red trail disappeared completely, leaving Ume in the darkness. "Great. I feel better now." Senren breathe a sigh of relief, rubbing in Ume's face that she wasn't quick enough to get to him while he was weak. In his room main chamber, he began to hum a lullaby he made up about the slaughter of the horrid and impure wolf kind.  
-  
Tsume looked at Kurama and sighed. "Any trace?" Kurama shook his head in response. "Why'd she have to go off like that...?"

"If she hadn't, all three of us would've lost the trail…"

"But who knows what she's gotten herself into. If she were here, I'd hit her." She kicked a stone in frustration. The stone flew past the tops of some trees and landed in a short distance and made a strange sound. "Did you hear that…?"

Kurama listened and ran over to where the rock landed, finding a river. "Listen…" Kurama raised one finger, signaling for Tsume to be quiet. "A waterfall…" He looked at Tsume's face right before she dashed off.

"You don't think Ume…" Tsume started.

"No; she's looking for Senren somewhere nearby…" He peered down the edge and saw something down there. He immediately jumped down to it.

Tsume cried out, "Kurama!"

She ran to the side, half her body over the edge and looking down for any trace of Kurama in the waters far below. At first, she saw nothing, but a few seconds later, she saw the fox demon's grim face come from behind the waterfall. Tsume let a sigh or relief and jumped down too, expecting Kurama to catch her, which he did of course.

Tsume turned around and gasped at all the dead bats. "Holy…"

"Let's go." Kurama led the way past the bats and past the two dead wolves.  
-  
The cave split into two ways, one towards the left and the other towards the right. Ume used her Weapon Ball into a sword and marked the left direction to signal to Kurama and Tsume that that was the way she went and to make sure she herself didn't get lost within the caverns.

She ran into the direction the marking indicated. Before long, Ume noticed Senren's hum grow louder. Certain she was going in the right direction she pressed on. Minutes later of running, she came to a sudden halt, listening for the annoying tune. It was gone. A slab of rock came down behind Ume, blocking her way back.  
-  
Senren appeared where Ume had previously met the fork in the cave. He erased Ume's markings and made it point in the opposite tunnel. With a smirk, he disappeared into the darkness.  
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I've been in a terrific mood lately (3/19) and have decided to at least _try_ and finish the next chapter quickly. I've also decided on starting my next fan fiction (Zatch Bell) soon! Stay tuned!


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